Chapter 1 Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction: overview of issues and challenges

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in different parts of the world over the past several decades, there have been serious effects on climate. Available observational evidences indicate that regional changes in climate, particularly fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. International communities have tried to respond to these changing phenomena by establishing high-level Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Numerous global treaties and protocols have been formulated on climate change in different countries. However, climate change impacts are found to be most severe in the grassroots-level community, in the form of natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and typhoons/cyclones, which affect the lives and livelihoods of people. Indirect impacts of climate change are observed in the form of increasing poverty and health issues in different ecosystems. Although communities are equipped with traditional knowledge and wisdom, new practices and policies are required to enable them to cope with the changing climate, thereby providing them with means to sustain their livelihoods.